Childhood Sweethearts
by wildnfree21
Summary: Fate united them under the most dire of circumstances...Claire Redfield and Leon Kennedy have been to hell and back together and still have a relationship to rival all others...yet what would it have been like if things had started out differently? Would
1. Chapter 1

Chapter One:

Claire Redfield could count on the fingers of one hand the days she had experienced like this one: the quiet early afternoon sun gave warmth to the cool breeze blowing through the grass and the sky was a light airy blanket of blue (that of course, matched her blue and white checkered sundress). As she looked around, she was suddenly tremendously aware of just how lucky she was. Truth be told, a few years ago, she wondered whether there would ever be days like this for her. It was hard to imagine a life of leisure, of light-heartedness, of playing hooky on one's birthday when you're facing a six-foot tall viral killing machine… If she allowed herself the deception, she might deem her life normal.

Movements at her side made her look towards the disturbance in her reverie and she saw Leon Kennedy scooting closer towards her.

"So, are we having a happy birthday yet?" Leon asked her.

Claire gave a soft giggle. One that formed in her chest but did not escape any farther, not breaking the barrier of her lips. "Yes. It's great."

Leon 'tsk-ed' and shook his head. "Hmm, you know, I really don't believe you."

Even though she expected it, he had done it a hundred—no, a _thousand _times before, she didn't catch him. With lightning quick precision his hands were at her stomach and his fingers danced wildly around her waist. She bit her lips and forced down the shrieks of laughter fighting their way out.

"Leon! Hey, wait—I—" she sputtered.

Of course he didn't stop; instead, he lowered his lips to her neck and blew a loud raspberry at the base of her collar bone.

"Aaaah! Okay, hey, stop it, that's enough!" she barely got the last sentence out; nearly every syllable was punctuated with a fit of laughter. "Leon, PLEASE, STOOOOOOOOOP!"

"I didn't realize your voice could get so high." Leon remarked, his digits still tangoing over her body, on the side of her ribs this time.

The tickling fit lasted much longer than usual. Just when Claire thought her lungs and abdominals would explode, Leon relinquished his hold on her. A few rogue laughs escaped her in a gasping cough, and she rolled halfway over to catch her breath.

"Oh, Leon," she panted. "You are horrible."

Leon shrugged. "I've been called worse."

Though still partially winded, Claire slid closer to him and rested the side of her head on her hand, her upper body propped up by her elbow.

"There's that Redfield smile that I love." Leon said, as if he had just found something in the attic that he had been searching for months to recover. He bent down to kiss her forehead softly. "And I should be seeing that even more today…a face as beautiful as yours is where smiles belong."

Claire laughed, her head tilting back. "Right…what would Sherry say… 'gag me'?"

Chuckling at her impersonation of the young girl, Leon bent once again to gently nibble on Claire's neck. Something that he knew she loved and that he had been doing ever since he discovered it. Claire relaxed her body into his arms and the two of them began a kissing marathon that would make even the most seasoned romance novel enthusiast blush.

"I'm glad no one's here." Leon mumbled as he half sucked, half kissed his way down to her breasts. "I can make love to you all that I want."

"Leon." Claire said, giving him a look that she hoped was stern. Leon met her gaze with one of his own that was equally serious before he smiled and laid his head on her breasts, closing his eyes.

"I'm only joking." he replied, breathing in the smell of her body; then he added, "--but just barely."

Exhaling heavily, Claire sighed and propped body up on both elbows so she was gazing down at his bright red hair. "This day is so wonderful, I don't want it to end."

"Good. We'll just stay here, right here, forever." he told her.

"Yeah, but Chris is taking us to dinner tonight. Damn, my brother always manages to screw things up."

"Amen to that." Leon replied, pressing himself against her. "But you've probably got a point. We should be heading back home to get ready."

It took a little while in between collecting the blanket, picnic basket (filled with moderately priced wine and chocolate dipped strawberries), and the numerous kisses Leon kept pulling her in for, but eventually the two made it back to the car. They had parked in a more secluded area of the park so as not to be disturbed.

As Leon drove down the road, Claire reached into the glove box and pulled out a white envelope.  
"What's that?" Leon asked, noticing what she was holding.

Claire puckered her lips in a secretive way and shrugged. "Oh, nothing...just a birthday card from your mom."

Leon's eyebrows rose. "Oh, that was nice of her. How wonderful that it came on time. Mine are always a couple of days late." he laughed. "Anyway, what does she say?"

Claire's eyes scanned the card as she paraphrased its contents, "Well, she wishes me a 'happy birthday', she send her love--to you as well--the O' Gradys from next door are moving out at the end of the week--"

"The O' Gradys are _moving_?" Leon interrupted. "Damn, they've been there forever."

"She also sent something else with the card--she says I may enjoy it."

"I always wished they would move away." Leon said, his eyes focusing fiercely on the road before him. "They were awful."

"Are you listening anymore?" Claire asked.

"You know, they tortured animals for fun." he declared then caught himself. "I'm sorry. What?"

Claire grinned impishly and held up a small 2x3 inch glossy paper and showed Leon what she was talking about. It was a picture of a young boy, about seven or eight with deep blue eyes, fiery red hair with a smile that betrayed the fact that he either hated getting his picture taken or the shirt and tie that his mom picked out.

Leon grimaced and shook his head. "That's not a five dollar bill."

Claire giggled. "You look so cute!"

"That's not me. I swear. That's the kid mom and dad were ashamed of and kept secret for years." Leon shook his head again and made a grabbing motion for the picture.

"Hey--no way! This is mine." Claire said, pulling it away, protectively. Then she promptly inserted it into the top of her blouse, between her left breast and bra.

Leon scoffed. "Oh yeah, put it there. Like I'm not going to get to it later."

"Keep that up and you won't." Claire replied smugly.

If he had not looked so serious, Claire would have thought Leon pouted through the rest of the drive home. He did seem more cheerful when they parked and headed up the stairs to their apartment. Claire couldn't help but notice that he climbed the steps faster than usual and with more bounce.

"What are you, training for a marathon?" she asked, following him.

"Oh. Sorry." he said, smiling and extending his hand to her. One of the first gestures he ever made to her and that he still offered to this day (of course, now there were no more mutated creatures chasing after them).

They climbed the rest of the stairs and Leon slipped the keys into their door.

"Come on," Leon whispered slyly as he pushed the door open. "Don't we have time for a little fun before we have to meet Chris and Jill?"

Claire smiled, her heart already beating faster. "Well...maybe."

She had barely gotten the sentence out when a loud chorus of voices chimed, "SURPRISE!"

Claire froze, her mind registering the fact that there were others in the house with them. She saw her brother, Chris, along with Jill Valentine, Rebecca Chambers, Sherry Birkin, Barry Burton, Carlos Oliviera and a few other people whose faces she recognized but did not really know personally. Confused, she turned to Leon, who was grinning at her.

"Happy Birthday...again. Did we surprise you?" he asked.

"Well. Um, yeah...I suppose." she turned back to the group of people and noticed the large cake sitting in the middle of the coffee table. "Wow. You guys...this is...I'm just... speechless." she shrugged. "Th--thank you."

To save herself from the awkward moment, she grabbed Leon into a hug and whispered sharply to him, "Baby, a surprise party?"

She felt him shrug. "Why not?"

Her face was flushing as she greeted her guests and went through the ritual of exclaiming how surprised she was and how happy she was that everyone was there.

"Thank you for coming." Claire said to Chris and Jill when she reached them.

"It's not a problem, Claire." Jill replied, giving her a hug. "Happy Birthday."

"Hey sis." Chris said, hugging her as well. "Another year older."

"But still younger than you." she observed.

As what usually happened when the gang got together, they all sat around on chairs and couches and talked about how their lives were going. Well, the women did. The men were slightly less vocal; On request, Leon had turned on the stereo and it was now playing Run DMC music and Chris and Carlos were battling it out with their old school break dancing moves. Before too long it would turn into a bitter competition and the two wouldn't speak to each other for weeks.

"What do you know about break dancing?" Chris asked, jokingly.

"About as much as a white boy like you does." Carlos replied.

"Keep it clean, boys." Barry, the designated referee, ordered, keeping an amused eye on them.

Claire sighed, as she watched Chris execute some rusty but passable uprock footwork. That got the attention of everyone in the room and they quieted down to watch. Carlos frowned and followed with his own opening, equally as rusty but not too bad.

"Oh God...this is _so _embarrassing!" she declared, putting her face in her hands. "My brother and Carlos are breaking at my party. Somebody please kill me."

Leon came up to her, his eyes still on the festivities in the corner. "Get a load of the two of them. I guess we'll have to clean the floors for scuff marks after this, huh?"

"I can't believe you're condoning this." Claire said.

"Relax." Leon encouraged, nudging her playfully. "If anything, we get to watch them make complete fools of themselves...and maybe pull a muscle. Good times all around."

"Easy for you to say. You're not related to either of them."

"Or dating them for that matter." Jill said warily, massaging her temples and looking at Chris. "I knew I shouldn't have let him rent _You Got Served._"

"It started way before that, believe me." Claire said.

Leon shrugged, still watching Carlos and Chris who were now alternating between various pop and lock moves. "Come on, give the guys some credit. They aren't half bad."

"Why don't you go join them?" Sherry piped up.

Leon froze. "Me? Uh, no thanks."

Just as expected, the competition intensified and soon the living room had been cleared and the two were moving into the power moves. Chris had dropped into a flare and ended spinning around on his back. He got up looking a little breathless and Carlos laughed.

"Yeah, hot moves but remember that you're getting old Redfield. You're going to go home and have to take Tylenol after that." Big words which he followed with the worm and somehow ended up tangling on the floor.

"Tylenol, huh?" Chris said, laughing.

There was some scattered applause from their audience and the two agreed that the whole issue was old and stopped. They spent the rest of the evening sitting down and massaging their sore muscles.

The party dispersed at nearly two in morning. Claire yawned as they tossed a few garbage bags into the kitchen.

"I'll take those out tomorrow." Leon replied, yawning once himself.

"Did you plan the party too?" Claire asked him, wrapping her arms around his neck.

"Most of it." he said, looking down and gently kissing her forehead. "But Chris and the others helped a lot too."

Claire smiled. "You're too sweet."

She felt Leon's hand move to her breast and placed her own over it. After a few heated kisses, Leon broke away and slipped something from her bra.

"I told you I'd get it back." Leon said, holding up the picture.

Claire rolled her eyes. "You spend all evening planning your attack? Come on, give it back."

Leon shook his head. "Nope. This kid goes into a box and doesn't come out until all that's left in the world are Twinkies and Little Debbie oatmeal cookies."

"But why?" whined Claire, pulling him in for a hug.

"Because I like them." Leon replied slyly. "Oh, you mean the picture? Because I don't want you to wake up one day and realize you're dating a dork."

Claire blew a raspberry at him. "You're no dork."

"I know every line from every Star Wars movie ever made."

Claire cocked her head to the side. "That...can be sexy."

"Right. If you find that sexy, then you're the one with a problem." he said, laughing it off.

"Come on, baby, let me have the picture back." she said, rubbing his shoulders.

Leon was stubborn about the issue for a few more minutes before he surrendered the picture back. Claire gleefully took it and skipped to the living room, pulling out a photo album. She slipped the picture next to one of her when she was around the same age. "There. You see. It's not that bad. At least I'm not blowing it up to 200 times its size and displaying it over the fireplace."

"True." Leon said begrudgingly.

Claire smiled down at the two pictures. "We look cute together."

"Mhmm." Leon replied, his lips pressed into a firm, straight line.

Claire was quiet for a moment studying the two pictures. She looked at Leon and began to wonder what he was really like as a kid. He told her a few light-hearted stories about growing up but never went into too much detail. She began to wonder what it would have been like...if they had grown up together. Had they been childhood sweethearts instead of strangers who met in the middle of a zombie infested city.

A laugh she hadn't known would be coming made Leon glance at her.

"What's so funny?" he asked.

"I was just thinking." she said.

Leon prodded, "About?"

"Oh...what it would have been like to grow up together. If we knew each other when we were younger. That kind of thing."

"Mm." he nodded.

Claire scooted against him. "What do you think it would be like?" she asked. "Do you think we'd still be together now?

Leon smiled and shook his head. "I don't know...probably...probably not."

His words made her freeze for the second time that night. "I'm sorry. What?"

"I don't know if we would be together today...had we known each other back then."

It was a simple statement; quite possibly true but it still irked Claire none the less. She had expected him to humour her and say that of course they would still be together. She hadn't expected that answer from him.

"Really? Why not?"

"I was too shy back then." he replied with a smile.

"You? You were shy?" she said. "Right. You're on a first name basis with the cashier at the supermarket. He's like your best friend--and he doesn't like anybody."

"Well. Maybe I wasn't too shy...but I definitely wouldn't have had the guts to talk to you about anything. I'm sure you would have been one of those girls that was clearly out of my league." he told her.

"I would not have been." she assured him.

Leon sighed. "Well, you know what, even if we didn't know each other back then, at least we're together now. Isn't that all that matters?"

Claire nodded quietly, forcing a smile onto her lips.

"Hey, come on." Leon whispered softly. "We have each other right here and now. I wouldn't have it any other way. Would you?"

"No. I wouldn't." she said. "I couldn't even imagine it."

Leon nodded. "Let's go to bed."

Lying in Leon's arms that night, Claire was still wondering about the matter. She and Leon had been through so much together, it was hard to imagine a life without him. Had things turned out differently somewhere along the road, they might not have been together today. It made Claire shiver to think about it. But it didn't stop her from dreaming about it...

**We'll see how this story goes. I have to give credit to Santiago, who shared this great idea and has given me permission to use it first :)**


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter Two:

_(Note: the word BREAK might appear every now and then in the text to signal when a POV is changing or the story picks up after a certain amount of time. I usually just have a few line spaces in between but it isn't showing up when I download the story. If anyone knows how to rectify that problem, please let me know, if not, just bear with the generic replacement--and I would put a smiley face here but that won't show up either)_

What was wrong with where they had lived before? This question had bugged Claire ever since December, when her mom and dad had announced their plans to move the coming summer. At first, she had not understood what the idea of moving entailed. It was not until she heard the conversations about a new home, new schools and new jobs that she began to worry.

Would this new house have enough room for all her things? Or would she have to leave behind her prized collection of stuffed animals and Bug-bug, her precious blankie? And did this new school have kids like her best friend, Genevieve? Would she be able to make new friends at all?

Claire's little six-year-old heart fretted over the issue for months and she peppered everyone about her with questions.

"Daddy, will we have room for Teddy Rucksbin?"

"Of course, sweetie. The place will have room for all your things, I promise. Nothing will be left behind. Especially not you." Mr. Redfield winked and pinched his daughter's cheek. Something she hated but pretended not to mind too much.

On an excursion to the grocery store, she asked her mom, "Mommy, I don't want to leave here. I'll miss my friends too much." Her eyes filled with tears as she continued. "What if I don't make friends—do we really have to go?"

Mrs. Redfield sighed sadly as she set a carton of eggs into the cart. "I know you're scared, honey, but you don't have to be. You are my sweet, special girl—you are not going to have _any _problems making new friends—or keeping your old ones. You and Genevieve, Sophia, and Jannelle can write letters to each other, right?"

"Maybe." She said doubtfully. "But not Sophia—she's a little mean. I never really liked her."

Her mother laughed, "Everyone has that very same problem no matter where they go. At least now you'll have a fresh start."

As the move drew closer, Claire started to turn to her brother for any type of consolation.

"Chris?"

"What?" he asked, his head jerking in her direction but his eyes on the television screen, where Mario was running after a mushroom.

"Daddy says we'll be driving to the new house. What happens if we get lost?"

"That's what maps are for."

"I know that, but _what if?_" insisted Claire.

Chris heaved an exasperated sigh. "Well, then, I guess mom and dad will just have to sell you for directions, won't they?"

Claire glared at him for a few moments, her lower lip puffing out, her eyes full of rage.

"I'm telling." She proclaimed.

"Go ahead, you big baby."

"MOM! DAD!" she cried, bolting out of the room.

Chris leapt up from the floor, "No! Hey! I was just kidding!" he chased his little sister through the house. "I was only kidding! Come back here, you dumb baby!"

"Shut-up, Chris, you fatso!"

Chris paused at the bottom of the stairs, out of breath, his baby fat filled cheeks huffing and puffing, vaguely resembling two cherry tomatoes. "Oh yeah? Well, I may be fat—but you're ugly—and I can diet!"

"No you can't." Claire taunted gleefully from the top of the stairs. "You can't even share a pizza."

That seemed to ignite the Redfield rage and Chris charged up the stairs like a furious bull. All the noise they created caught their parents' attention—and their wrath. The two were confined to the two most dreaded rooms in the house which offered nothing to a child's imagination—Chris, in the dreary study and Claire in the chair by the corner in the kitchen, facing the wall. She frowned and stared dejectedly at the wall in the same manner as she did now, gazing miserably out the car window.

They had been driving down the enormous highway for the past three days. Once the scenery had changed from their neighborhood and the familiar towns surrounding it to the bare, open fields of crops and cows, Claire had given up all hope for any chance of them turning back. They were on their way to their new life but she could not muster up the same enthusiasm the rest of her family possessed.

"_One hundred bottles of beer on the wall—one hundred bott—_" Chris began in a note that betrayed his tone deaf ear.

"Christopher." His father said in his 'warning' voice. That road song had been prohibited at the dawn of that day's ride. Reason being that it had sparked a debate between the Redfield siblings that had not been one bit diplomatic and had gone something like this:

"Why does it have to be _beer_, Chris?" Claire had inquired. "You don't drink beer."

"I know that, Claire." He explained. "but that's just the way the song goes."

"Don't you have any imagination? Can't you change it? Why can't it be chocolate milk? Or cream soda? I love those." She mused.

Chris scoffed. "It can't be those because I _hate _those." He retorted. "Cream soda is gross and don't even get me started on chocolate milk."

"You're only saying that because you're allergic to milk." Claire declared.

"Yeah, and I'm glad. Who wants to drink all the pus and blood inside milk anyway?" fired back Chris.

"WHAT?" Claire screeched, her world coming to a stand still.

A nonchalant expression played on Chris's face. "Oh, you didn't know? There's a certain percentage of pus and blood in milk that is FDA approved."

Claire didn't know what the FDA was but she did know that the seatbelt around her shoulder had slipped up to her neck and was pressing against a big lump in her throat.

Feeling a little green, Claire spat out, "You're a liar!"

"No, I'm not. We learned it in school." He defended.

"Like you ever pay attention. You must have heard wrong!" insisted Claire. "Daddy, mommy, is that true?"

"—and you know those yummy strawberries you like to eat?" jeered Chris. "Covered with pesticides."

A very wet raspberry was Claire's rebuttal. "They are not! ...What are pestimites?"

"Pesti_cides _are chemicals you spray on plants to kill any bugs."

Claire looked thoughtful. "Well, that's not so bad."

"True." Chris said, sounding as if she made a good point. "And if they kill bugs—think of what they do to _you_?"

The thought hit Claire like a ton of bricks and stunned her into silence.

"Did you ever think that maybe those chemicals in strawberries would turn you into some kind of mutant?" Chris asked devilishly. Then his eyes widened and he dropped his jaw so far Claire could see his tonsils. Whatever those were.

"Oh no…" he whispered gravely. "Claire…It's happening."

Claire whipped her head around, looking out the window in time to see a cow take a bite of grass.

"What? What's happening?"

"You! You've sprouted a horn in the middle of your face!"

"I've _WHAT_!"

"Oh, God, it's huge! Aaaaaah! And your hair is turning into a bunch of wriggly snakes!"

"No it's not!" Claire said, scowling. "Mommy!"

Sounding as if they were clutching to the end of their rope, Mrs. Redfield said, "Christopher Jay, cut it out right this minute."

"But mom, dad, she really is turning into a monster." He pulled a mirror from under the seat and handed it to Claire. "Look!"

Claire let out an ear-piercing shriek and swatted the mirror away, her eyes squeezing shut.

"Come on, Claire, look! You're turning into a monster! Like a zombie or something!"

"No-no-no-no-no-no-no!" she cried, kicking her feet feverishly. Even though her eyes were tightly shut, she had her hands over them and was passionately shaking her head.

"NO! I don't want to be a monster!"

"Then maybe you shouldn't have eaten poisoned strawberries and drank pus-blood cow juice!"

"ALL RIGHT THAT'S _ENOUGH_!"

Mr. Redfield's deep voice filled the car, silencing his children completely.

"Claire Elizabeth Redfield, stop that screaming. Chris is only trying to tease you." His threat turned to Chris this time. "And Christopher, you know your sister is sensitive—do you have to torment her this way?"

"She's such a baby." Chris dared to protest.

"She's six years old. And she's your little sister. You should be looking out for her, not making trouble. You understand?"

"Yes, sir."

"Now, it's only a couple more hours before we reach our new house. No more trouble until then, do you hear me?"

A vague agreement was mumbled between the adversaries and a truce was understood wordlessly as they looked out their respective windows. For almost fifteen minutes (a world record in road trip history) they rode in complete silence and then Chris had tried to start the road trip sing-a-long again. It was then that their parents made an executive decision to stop for lunch at a burger joint at the next exit.

BREAK

Surprisingly, the rest of the trip was completed without anymore major squabbles. They arrived at Meadowbrooke in the late afternoon, before the sunset in their new town. Claire grunted as she pulled her back pack out from the car, letting it plop on the grass. She stretched her legs out and dusted off her jeans and blouse. As Chris and her parents unloaded the suitcases from the trunk, Claire took a look around the neighborhood.

Before her was a two-story house with steps that led up to a wide porch. The porch had a swing that was swaying back and forth in the breeze. The lawn was a little bigger than the one they had before and there was a large tree residing on the left side of the house. Two sets of windows on the second floor made Claire wonder which bedroom would be hers. As she pondered this, her eyes fell on the house next door. This one was also a two story, white with blue trim and several pairs of shoes and assorted sports gear strewn about the porch.

Despite the homey, lived-in appearance, it didn't seem as if anyone were home at the moment.

"Come on, Claire, sweetie, why don't you carry these bags over there, they're about your size." Mrs. Redfield said, setting down a few bags on the ground.

Making no verbal response, Claire picked up the bag, hoisted her pack onto her opposite shoulder and trudged up the porch steps to where her father was unlocking the door.

"Here we are," he announced grandly, swinging the door open. "Home sweet home!"

Claire glanced at him through lowered brows and rolled her eyes, stepping inside the house. A staircase greeted her a few feet in and to either side of it were big, bare rooms with white walls and deep brown wooden floors.

Unimpressed, Claire set the bags down in the room to the right and went back outside. Just as she was heading down the steps, a van pulled into the driveway of the house next door. Their new neighbors were home.

Claire watched as the van pulled to a stop and the man driving got out of the car and waved at her parents. "Howdy neighbors! Welcome!"  
"Hello." Mr. Redfield replied, walking toward the man and extending his hand.

"When did you get in?"

"Just now." Mr. Redfield said, which sparked a conversation that sounded very grown up and therefore very boring.

"Move." Chris said, pushing past Claire, carrying two suitcases up the steps. Claire took a step to the side of the walkway and looked at the van, where a second person was exiting, wearing a baseball cap and tossing a baseball up in the air and catching it again. The boy and Claire made a eye contact for a brief moment, long enough for Claire to see (even from a distance) that his eyes were a piercing, dark blue.

The boy seemed to hesitate for a moment and started in for the house.

"Hey, Scotty! Beam yourself over here for a second and come meet the Redfield clan!"

Freezing in his place, the boy turned solidly and headed in the direction the man instructed. Claire noticed that he took off his hat before shaking her father's hand.

"Hello, there." Mr. Redfield said.

"Hello, sir." He said.

"Well, you're just a regular carrot-top, aren't ya?" her dad asked and Claire groaned, embarrassed. She had noticed that the boy—Scotty, was it?—did have red hair but she'd hardly call him a carrot top. His fine, straight hair had different blends of colours: red with gold, orange, and auburn. When he moved it seemed more like fire than carrots.

Claire picked up a bag from the car and was about to retreat into the house when her own father called her over to join the meeting. As she made her way over, she was joined by her mother at her side.

"Aren't you a lucky man—traveling with _two _beautiful ladies." The other man joked.

"That I am." Her dad said. "This is my wife, Cynthia and my daughter, Claire."

"Hello, ladies, pleasure to meet you." The man gave his son a nudge. "Well, looks like you got yourself a girlfriend, doesn't it?"

Claire flushed furiously and attached herself to her mother's leg. The boy seemed equally humiliated. The adults shared an, 'oh-aren't-they-cute?' laugh and Scotty's father encouraged him to help Claire with the bags she was carrying.

"Oh, don't trouble yourselves with that." Mr. Redfield said.

"Now, Charles, don't worry, just being hospitable. We're just glad to see that you all made it here safely. Hey Teresa!" the man called at the house that Claire had thought was empty. A few moments later, a pretty lady with light brown hair appeared at the door. "Come and meet the Redfield's! Bring some cookies out!"

"Of course," Teresa said jovially from the porch. "Your children must be exhausted from the drive."

"What children?" the man asked, sounding puzzled. "They're for me!"

A round of laughter and the conversation continued and so Scotty ended up helping Claire with the bags. Between the two of them and Chris the suitcases were all inside the house before the adults had time to get through all their most clever jokes and witticisms.

Claire sat on the porch swing, her legs tucked under her and watched as Scotty returned with a tray of cookies and a few glasses of milk.

"My mom wanted you to have these." He said, setting it down beside her.

"Gee, thanks." Chris said, grabbing a cookie. "Claire loves milk."

Holding back a gag, Claire smiled.

"They're really good. My mom made them herself." Scotty said. His eyes locked with Claire's again and he quickly looked down at the tray. Picking up a cookie shaped like a star, he handed it to Claire.

"Oh, thanks…Scotty."

"Oh, it's Leon." He said with a laugh. "You know, like a lion? But my parents call me Scotty because…oh, a lot of reasons."

Claire smiled again. "Why do they call you Scotty if your name is Leon?"

Leon shrugged and bit into a cookie that looked like bell. "Well, my dad loves Star Trek, you know how they say, 'Beam me up, Scotty?'"

Claire shook her head but Chris nodded enthusiastically.

"My mom loves Scottish Terriers." He added.

"I'm allergic to dogs." Chris said lamely.

"And," Leon added, as if the next reason were his proudest. "My full name is Leon Scott Kennedy."

"I'm Claire Redfield." Claire said.

"And I'm Chris." Chris replied, helping himself to a second cookie.

Leon offered a glass of milk to her. "The star ones are peanut butter. You sure you don't want some?"

Claire shook her head, even though her mouth was getting a little dry.

"So, Leon," Chris said, looking a little bored. "What is there to do around here? I mean, you're cool and everything but are there any older kids around?"

Leon looked thoughtful. "Well, there's Jill Valentine—she lives just down the street. And Rebecca Chambers just around the block."

"Great, more girls." Chris said disdainfully. "Don't you hang out with any boys?"

"Of course." Leon replied, not sounding put out by Chris's tone. "My cousins all live within a couple of blocks around here and we go around and play baseball, football, we go fishing, and other stuff."

Chris looked unimpressed and Leon cocked his head to Claire who shook her own.

"Don't mind my brother. He just thinks he's the King of Cool since he turned twelve this year."

Leon smiled. "How old are you?"

"Six." She replied.

"I'm eight." He said, trying to hide the pride most eight year olds feel after finding out they are older than someone. Then he added, "But don't worry. You'll get there."

Claire frowned. "I'd rather not grow up at all if it means you have to move all the time." She set down her half-eaten cookie, which Chris promptly picked up and popped into his mouth, and ran off. Since the area was unfamiliar to her, the only place she could run to was the back yard where she sat in the middle of the yard.

BREAK

Leon looked worriedly at the new kid, Chris, who was polishing off his sister's half-eaten cookie.

"Shouldn't we go after her?" Leon asked.

Chris shrugged. "What for? She's just being a baby."

"She sounded sad." Insisted Leon.

"She'll be fine." Chris assured. "She's just a little upset that I told her that milk has blood and pus in it."

"WHAT?" Leon asked, looking down at his glass of milk that he had been gulping ever since they had started talking.

"It's only a little." Chris said.

"Blood and _pus_?" Leon repeated.

"Look it up, my friend."

Setting the glass down, Leon hopped down the steps, cast a glance at his parents and the new neighbors and followed in the direction the girl had gone. He found her sitting in a huff in the back yard. He paused a few feet behind her. He did not have much experience with girls but he knew that they were a little confusing. Sometimes they were happy, sometimes they were mad, sometimes they would talk to you for hours, and sometimes, when their other girl friends said something, they wouldn't talk to you for days because you had something called _cooties_.

"Hey, um, I'm sorry if I made you upset." Leon said, knowing that straight-up apologies usually worked. At least with his mother and father.

"It isn't you." Claire replied, her voice shaky.

Taking that as a good sign, Leon inched toward her. "Is it about the milk? The cookies? Your brother?"

"No! it's not about any of that. I just want to go home."

Leon looked from her to the house behind them. "Well, just because all the grown ups are talking outside doesn't mean you can't go inside your house."

Claire whirled around. "No! Not _this _house! My _home_. I want to go back home!" her eyes filled with tears. "I want my old house, my old friends, and…everything."

"Where did you come from?" Leon asked.

Claire sighed. "Three days in _that _direction." She said, tossing her hand to the left.

"Okay, but from Earth, right?" he joked and was relieved a second later when Claire laughed.

He took a big step and sat down next to her.

"I've never moved before." Leon told her. "It must be hard. You're really brave."

"It doesn't matter if I was brave or not. I didn't even have a choice. Nobody asked me what I wanted." Claire said angrily. "They just said, Claire pack up, Claire do this, Claire do that. Nobody even cared that I wanted to stay. That I had friends."

"I'm glad you moved here." Leon said.

That stopped Claire for a moment. "You are?"

"Yeah." He said sincerely. "When my parents told me that the O' Grady's were moving I was really glad—they were creepy you know. They had this big mean mountain lion thing and I think they tortured local animals for fun—"

"Um, you were saying?" Claire said.

"Oh, right, sorry…" Leon continued. "I was glad because they said the new family might have kids—and after seeing what your brother's like, I'm glad he's not the only one."

Claire blinked.

Leon added, "I'm not a poet, okay? I'm only eight." He smiled. "But I am glad you moved here."

He reached into his pocket and pulled out his baseball. "You play?"

Claire shook her head. "No. Boys never wanted me to play with them back home."

Leon grinned. "Well, I guess that's their loss, huh? I'll teach you some time?"

Claire smiled. "Sure."

Leon stood up and dusted his pants off and held out his hand to her. Looking up at him, Claire put her hand in his and followed him back to the front of the yard.


End file.
